Caldera

Aren't you being judgmental and disrespectful to drug addicted street walkers in the US? I'd daresay many of them deserve your sympathy just as much as their Thai sisters.

Talking the grassroots talk, walking the "enrich your cronies" walk.

Great idea. Of course it will never happen, but we can dream.

Just as a side note, going to a regular police station in such a situation is a really bad idea. Best case scenario, they won't be of any help and just send you away. Worst case scenario, they arrest you for overstay.

Disagree; the fact that you simply had to go to another counter first doesn't really amount to incorrect info - those things can and do change on a whim. My takeaway is that you could use your Lao eVisa without hassle. That's useful, and for this I appreciate your report.

I don't think that there are many who qualify AND haven't already qualified previously, under any of the previously existing schemes. Most applicants are probably just switching over from another kind of visa or extension, for additional benefits and added convenience. The net gain for Thailand in terms of wealthy individuals will be very limited. Nowhere near the numbers they dreamed up, as per usual.

Dolly

I don't buy any of that, they're just incompetent. DeeMoney is currently relaunching as "DeeMoney Neo" and - surprise-surprise! - while they do require foreigners to provide an additional Thai ID document, they don't require foreigners to use NDID. And that's just the most recent example, I've been using anything from Line Pay to TrueMoney.

That's nonsense, considering how many other Thai financial services companies I've been using as a foreigner. Sure, sone of them have required an additional round of KYC when regulations have changed, but none of them have ever closed my account for failure to use NDID.

The problem is that they'd say this with a straight face until the minute before they stage a coup.

This is quite ridiculous, they've postponed the migration time and again - and have still failed to come up with a solution for customers who aren't Thai citizens. No Thai financial service company has ever expected me (being a foreigner) to use NDID, understanding that only Thai citizens are able to do so. They've all provided alternative means of ID verification for foreigners. Which is why I see PayPal at fault here, not the Thai authorities. Just why PayPal can't or won't do the same is anyone's guess. Fortunately it isn't crucial for me to keep using my account with them, so once I can't I'll simply use other services.

It isn't much worse than having ATMs installed on temple grounds.

Crumble, crumble, little baht... I for one want to see more of it!

If you don't have checked baggage, you can try to get a boarding pass for your flight to Vietnam at Air Asia's airside international transfer desk at DMK. It might or might not be possible, having two separate tickets, but it's worth a shot. If successful, you'd avoid Thai immigration altogether. I don't think they'd deny entry in your case. If there's any sign of trouble or if they start questioning you, show them your ticket out. They usually start with a question to establish the intended duration of your stay anyway. Please report back how it went once you're through.

ATMs in Cambodia dispense US Dollars, yes. I don't recall seeing ATMs directly at that border crossing, but it's likely that at least the nearby casino will have ATMs.

I don't see any real contradiction there, I wrote that they TRY to charge more and that's well documented. Usually by quoting an inflated price in Thai baht. If you know this and politely stand your ground, sure, you can get away with paying the official price in USD.

Interesting that they don't have age categories and let "mostly schoolchildren" compete against a seasoned wordsmith such as Rooster.

As long as Thais with a monthly income of 20,000 baht choose to buy the latest iPhone for 40,000 baht, their salary will never be enough.

Same as others, I don't see any indication of the OP almost having been refused entry. Sounds like a reasonable line of inquiry.

You'll have to leave and reenter Thailand.

No fees and reasonably friendly on the Thai side. The Cambodian side will try to charge you an inflated price for the visa on arrival, plus an extra fee for returning to Thailand without spending a night. Nothing outrageous though.

Too much of a good thing - can definitely be bad! I've seen many examples of parents shamelessly exploiting their obedient children (grown ups, on paper anyway, at the time).

Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province, bordering Laos. No problem to do a border run there.

To elaborate on this, it's not possible to apply for a METV at just any Thai embassy. You need to be a resident where you apply, so this would usually have to be the Thai embassy in the applicant's home country. Single entry tourist visas, on the other hand, can be obtained in nearby countries.

Having Thai friends (or Thai family) could help explain why someone chooses to visit Thailand frequently or for extended periods of time. So I'd say a qualifying factor if anything.